Cobb school board to vote on 'divisive concepts' rules, discuss school safety

Jun. 9—The Cobb County Board of Education Thursday will vote on changes to district policies mirroring recently enacted state law that restrict the teaching of what state legislators have termed "divisive concepts."

The concepts include certain beliefs about race, as well as sexual content.

Superintendent Chris Ragsdale is also expected to discuss safety procedures in the wake of the mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.

Georgia Republicans earlier this year passed bills aimed at the teaching of race in the classroom, which were signed into law by Gov. Brian Kemp, including a ban on certain divisive concepts. Also enacted was a "Parents' Bill of Rights," which gives parents the right to review curriculum and other instructional material during the first two weeks of every nine-week grading period.

Included in the proposed changes to Cobb's policies is an acknowledgement that "parents have the right to direct the upbringing and the moral or religious training of their children. Therefore, District employees shall not improperly infringe upon this right."

Proposed changes to the district's policies, drafted by Cobb Schools' lawyers, would also bring the district in line with the ban on divisive concepts. Examples listed include the following concepts:

—"One race is inherently superior to another race";

—"The United States of America is fundamentally racist";

—"An individual, by virtue of his or her race, is inherently or consciously racist or oppressive toward individual of other races";

—"An individual's moral character is inherently determined by his or her race";

—"An individual, solely by virtue of his or her race, bears individual responsibility for actions committed in the past by other individuals of the same race";

—"Performance-based advancement or the recognition and appreciation of character traits such as a hard work ethic are racist or have been advocated for by individuals of a particular race to oppress individuals of another race."

If approved, the district's policies would also add language that calls on staff to refrain from espousing personal political beliefs while teaching.

Another state law being implemented by the district prohibits content that is "harmful to minors," namely nudity and sexual content. The language stipulates such content is banned when it appeals to the "prurient, shameful or morbid interest of minors," is "patently offensive" to adults, and when it is "lacking in serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value."

The proposed changes to Cobb policies require that materials selected for school libraries comply with the new state laws.

"We go in, and our policy department goes in and checks the legislation and tries to make sure that we're lined up with what the state expects. So that's what those are," School Board Chair David Chastain, a Republican, said of the proposed changes.

Cobb school board member Leroy Tre' Hutchins, a Democrat, said on Wednesday he was reviewing the proposed changes and comparing them to other metro Atlanta districts that are working to implement the new laws.

"Many of us share the same law firms and attorneys," Hutchins said. "So, looking at what is done in one district and comparing it to another, is one of the processes I use when evaluating whether a policy is good or not."

When the new laws were still being debated in the legislature, Democrats criticized them as solutions in search of a problem. They also expressed concerns that such laws send the wrong message to educators, pitting them against parents.

Hutchins compared the state laws to the board's Republican majority banning critical race theory last year. In both cases, he feels that teachers are being unfairly targeted.

"I felt like it was ... targeting our professional teaching staff. ... I just felt like it was a slap in their face, as if we were singling them out to say that they would be capable of being unprofessional in the workforce, and in their profession," Hutchins said.

Chastain, meanwhile, defended the legislation as empowering parents to control what values their children are being taught.

"I think making sure that our curriculum is age-appropriate. ... It's the parents who should be in charge of raising their child, and the state is tasked with teaching the basics," Chastain said. "Nobody's talking about removing facts or anything like that. ... From what I understand, the legislation that came through tried to be positive and tried to be child-centered, tried to be student-centered, and from what I heard, is that both sides of the aisle worked on it."

In other business, Chastain said Ragsdale will speak about school security during his superintendent's report.

In recent days, local left-leaning social media pages have announced plans to wear orange at the meeting and ask for the district to provide more details about its plans to keep schools safe.

The Cobb school board will meet Thursday at 2 p.m. for its work session, and again at 7 p.m. for its voting session. Meetings are held at the central office at 514 Glover St. in Marietta.